Week 13: Predictions

Gobble Gobble and Turkey Hangovers . . . .

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed lots of Turkey and plenty of alcohol. There are some crucial games this weekend, but nothing bigger than the Monday Night game between the Seahawks and the Saints. Let's analyze this monster match-up:


New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks

This is going to be one of the best games of the year. If Seattle can win this game, they would take a commanding 2 game lead on the Saints for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Playing in Seattle in January where it will be cold and wet would make the Seahawks the favorite to get to the Super Bowl. For the Saints to win, they have to get consistent play from their offense. I know they can beat anyone at home and score at will, but on the road, they are a different team. The offense struggled when they lost to the Jets in New York and even struggled against a bad Falcons team in Atlanta. The home crowd in Seattle is the loudest in the league and they will disrupt the Saints offense at crucial parts of the game. The Saints defense has played well this season, but will have a tough time stopping the rushing attack by Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks will shuffle their receivers around, especially Harvin, and make the Saints play a different type of defense in their secondary. Seattle will sustain drives during the whole game, forcing the Saints defense to stay on the field and be exhausted by the 4th quarter.

For Seattle, sustaining drives will be vital to winning the game. With a high powered offense like the Saints, best way to stop them is to keep them on the sidelines. Since Seattle is built to run the ball a lot, look for 10 or more plays on most of their offensive drives. Lynch will run for over 100 yards and at least 1 touchdown and cause chaos for the New Orleans defense. Look for Percy Harvin to be a full force in the offense and make some crucial plays at big moments of the game. Russell Wilson will throw for a few touchdowns and prove once again he is one of the rising stars in the NFL. The Saints will hang with Seattle for a while, but will falter in the 2nd half. The loud crowd and cold/wet weather will disrupt the timing and preciseness of the Saints offense. The Seahawks will make a huge step towards having home field throughout the NFC playoffs when the beat the Saints on Monday Night Football.

Seahawks 27

Saints 16

Here are the rest of my Predictions:

Jacksonville Jaguars 23, Cleveland Browns 13

Indianapolis Colts 27, Tennessee Titans 20

Chicago Bears 28, Minnesota Vikings 27

Miami Dolphins 17, New York Jets 9

Arizona Cardinals 26, Philadelphia Eagles 20

Carolina Panthers 37, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

New England Patriots 31, Houston Texans 17

Buffalo Bills 27, Atlanta Falcons 14

San Francisco 49ers 23, St. Louis Rams 13

Denver Broncos 34, Kansas City Chiefs 24

San Diego Chargers 27, Cincinnati Bengals 20

New York Giants 27, Washington Redskins 16

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!

Week 12: Power Rankings & Turkey Day!

Comebacks and Upsets . . .and 1 Tie:


This was one of my worst weekends of picking NFL games ever. I went 4-9 and the Packers/Vikings game ended in a rare tie. Just a crazy weekend of football again and it won't be the last one. How does Tampa Bay beat the NFC North leading Lions in Detroit? Are the Texans the worst team in football? Are the Cardinals for real? How is Tom Brady kicking ass with a bunch of no names on offense? Just a crazy time in the NFL and with the playoff push in full swing, it will only get crazier.


Patriots 34, Broncos 31 (OT)

I hope most of you watched this whole game because it was a classic. The Broncos, after forcing 3 turnovers in the 1st half, sprinted out to a 24-0 lead at halftime! Most people would think game over, but not with Tom Brady on the field. In the first half, the Patriots looked lost, confused and totally out of sync. With fumbles by the Patriots running backs Ridley and Blount, both were benched for the rest of the game. That's the Patriot way. When you screw up in big situations, you will pay the price. I agree with that philosophy totally. Players should be held accountable for their mistakes and must face the consequences for it.

The Broncos offense, even with a 24-0 lead at half, didn't display the type of explosiveness they have shown all year. The 20 degree weather and wind forced the Broncos offense to slow down a bit. The history of Peyton Manning playing in cold climate is not good, especially in New England. Even though Manning look uncomfortable and out of sync, the Broncos were still able to score 31 points.  Knowshon Moreno had a monster game, rushing for 224 yards and scoring 1 touchdown. Usually the New England defense handles running backs at home, but Moreno shredded that defense all night long helping the Broncos sustain drives.

The Patriots showed they are never out of a game even if they are down 24 points. They didn't panic, they didn't self destruct, they came out for the 2nd half and just played great football. Julian Edelman had a big game with 110 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. The way Edelman played reminded the New England crowd that Wes Welker, who now plays for Denver, can be replaced. The Patriots after this big win are back on the map as a Super Bowl contender.

During the game, Brady threw a pass to Kenbrell Thompkins that went incomplete, but the play could have been called pass interference. Immediately after that play, Brady ran towards the ref who didn't call a penalty on that play and started yelling at him. I know a lot of people believed Brady acted like a child and wonder why a penalty wasn't called on Brady for yelling at the ref, but I see it different. I love to see a QB do that. It tells me he cares so much for his team that he will risk a possible penalty to come to the aid of his teammate. It shows me the intensity and dedication he has to win at any cost. Do you see mediocre QB's do any of that stuff? Don't you want to see your quarterback fired up during the whole game? I've seen elite quarterbacks do that stuff and it fires up the rest of team. I rather have a loud mouth QB than a passive one.

Cowboys 24, Giants 21

This was a big game for both teams in the NFC East division race. The Cowboys jumped out early, then the Giants came back, but Dallas won it with a last second field goal by Dan Bailey. The Giants playoff hopes really got crushed with this loss because winning the division is the only way they can make it. Both the Eagles and Cowboys could lose more games down the line, but it's unlikely. Andre Brown had a great game rushing for 127 yards and made it look easy to run on the Dallas defense. The Giants were able to drive on the Cowboys, but stalled many times in the red zone and had to settle for field goals. Victor Cruz had a terrible game with just 2 catches and fumbled the ball leading to a Dallas defensive touchdown. If Cruz would have played a decent game, the Giants could have pulled out the victory.

For Dallas, this was a satisfying win. Romo led the team down the field during the end of the game that set up the winning field goal. Critics have knocked Romo for not being "clutch," but he showed them he was clutch on the last drive. Dez Bryant had over 100 yards receiving and Jason Witten caught 2 touchdown passes. When those 2 players are having good games, the Cowboys usually win the game. The Dallas defense played well in this game, despite giving up over 120 yards rushing. Stopping the Giants in the red zone and making them kick filed goals instead of touchdowns allowed Dallas to pull out the win and retake 1st place in the NFC East.












Power Rankings: Week 12

1. Seattle Seahawks- monster game Monday vs Saints, home field in reach, defense must play big
2. Denver Broncos- tough loss in NE, offense still lethal, defense very suspect, Chiefs game huge
3. New England Patriots- great comeback, easy schedule left, Brady MVP? defense not healthy
4. New Orleans Saints- can they win in Seattle? different team outside dome, Sproles needs to be ready
5. Carolina Panthers- they find ways to win, Newton stepping up big, defense is great, Saints games loom
6. Kansas City Chiefs- bad loss at home, defense got shredded, can they get revenge on Broncos Sunday?
7. Cincinnati Bengals- team is rested, division title within reach, bad weather helps team
8. San Francisco 49ers- offense showed life, defense better each week, Crabtree is active, Seattle game looms
9. Indianapolis Colts- what is going on? Crushed by Cards, no offense, defense getting destroyed
10. Arizona Cardinals- surprise! solid defense, Palmer playing great, don't sleep on them
11. Dallas Cowboys- Romo leads to great win, defense played well, offense breaks out
12. Detroit Lions- loss at home to Bucs is terrible, still in 1st place in division, too many turnovers
13. Philadelphia Eagles- battle for division with Dallas, Foles time to prove himself, McCoy is key
14. Chicago Bears- still in division race, Marshall is awesome, McCown playing well, defense is bad
15. Tennessee Titans- in playoffs today! Fitzpatrick doing well, defense causing turnovers, big game vs Indy Sunday
16. Pittsburgh Steelers- playing great football, defense is back, old school Big Ben, gotta beat Ravens
17. Baltimore Ravens- big game vs Steelers, back in playoff hunt, offense doing better, Rice still not being used right
18. San Diego Chargers- big win in Kansas City, Rivers is a top QB, big game vs Bengals in San Diego
19. St. Louis Rams- offense explodes against Bears, defense is relentless, loss of Zac Stacy will be huge
20. New York Jets- Geno time not so good, false hope to fans? just another mediocre AFC team


OUT: Dolphins, Packers, Giants, Redskins, Bills, Browns, Vikings, Falcons, Raiders, Bucs, Jaguars, Texans

Here are the 3 Thanksgiving Day Games:

Detroit Lions 34, Green Bay Packers 17

Dallas Cowboys 31 , Oakland Raiders 13

Pittsburgh Steelers  17 , Baltimore Ravens 9

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! Gobble Gobble!!

Predictions: Week 12

Continue the Chaos . . . 

Week 12 offers a lot of important games. Colts at Cardinals, Panthers at Dolphins and even Steelers at Browns have playoff implications for both the AFC and NFC. As the weather gets colder everywhere, the heat for some teams to win and get into the playoffs gets hotter and hotter. I love this time of the year because it shows the teams that are ready to make a run at the Super Bowl and the teams that are fake and looking towards next year. I am picking the 2 games that are the biggest this weekend and here they are:


Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots

Seems like the Broncos and Patriots are always in big games this time of year. This will be a special game with the return of Wes Welker, who was a lifelong Patriot until he signed with Denver in the off season. Welker is good to go for this game despite having a concussion from last Sunday Nights game versus the Chiefs. It will be interesting to see if he gets booed or cheered in his return.

For the Broncos, they handed the Chiefs their first loss and look to stay as the 1st seed in the AFC playoffs. Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense makes scoring lots of points look easy. In every game this year, the Broncos have scored at least 25 points and in 5 of those games they have scored at least 40 points. For any team to defeat the Broncos, they have to be ready to score at least 35 points. Denver should be able to score on New England, since the Patriots have injuries in the front line and also in the secondary. The Broncos defense played better last week, but I feel they can be scored on and Brady will look to exploit that.

The key for the Patriots is time of possession. The Patriots have scored lots of points this year, but they don't score quickly. They mostly use dink and dunk passes which leads to drives that last at least 10 plays. New England has to keep the Broncos offense off the field and score touchdowns, not field goals. Look for Gronkowski to have some huge catches and cause fits for the Broncos defense. I believe the Patriots will pull this game out late in the 4th quarter. Brady has been exceptional with this offense of no names and injuries to his receiving corp. Ammendola and Gronkowski are back so look for the real Patriots offense to shine in the win.

Gronkowski with porn star during bye week in 2011!

            

                                 Patriots 41
                                 Broncos 31








Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

So all the Giants fans who quit on their team when they were 0-6 are back on the bandwagon since big Blue has a chance to tie the Cowboys if they defeat them this Sunday. This is how Dallas has played for many seasons. They always have a lot of talent and many experts pick them to win the division in the off season.. Even with all that praise, Dallas right now sits with a 5-5 record and if they lose to the Giants, they will be tied with them! Romo is having a good season and DeMarco Murray is running the ball well, but Dez Bryant is no where to be found. Bryant had just 2 catches in a game this year and hasn't been used properly. I believe he gets back on track in this game and torches the Giants secondary.

The Giants have come a long way since starting the season 0-6. Contributing to the 4 game win streak is the defense playing well, a soft schedule and Eli Manning not turning the ball over as much. The Giants have a chance to get even with Dallas, but it will be tough. The defense has played well, but who have they played? Raiders, Green Bay (no Rodgers,) Vikings and Eagles (Barkley starting.) What do these teams have in common, the quarterbacks are not good. I'm not trying to take any credit away from the Giants defense, but when you play a team with a weak QB, you tend to play a lot better and the stats get inflated. Romo is obviously better than all of the four quarterbacks the Giants have played, so this will be a true test for them.

This game will be a shoot out and look for both Romo and Eli to have great games. Of course Romo will do a dumb play towards the end of the game and that will be the talk of the town. The injuries will be too much for the Dallas defense to keep the Giants offense down. Who would have thought at week 12 the Giants and Cowboys would be tied at 5-6.

Giants 29

Cowboys 23

Here are the rest of my predictions:

Cleveland Browns 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 13

Detroit Lions 38, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings 16

Kansas City Chiefs 26, San Diego Chargers 13

Chicago Bears 20, St. Louis Rams 17

Miami Dolphins 24, Carolina Panthers 21

Baltimore Ravens 19, New York Jets 10

Houston Texans 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

Oakland Raiders 26, Tennessee Titans 17

San Francisco 49ers 27, Washington Redskins 13

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!

Week 11 Recap & Power Rankings

Let the Playoff Chase Begin . . . 

With the Chiefs finally losing this weekend, the 1972 Miami Dolphins are still the only National Football League team to win the Super Bowl with a perfect season. Go ahead and pop the champagne boys!

This was a great weekend of football and the pressure of making the playoffs is in full effect. I went 11-3 this week and got the score of the Giants vs. Packers game exactly right at 27-13. The 3 big games this weekend were great and lived up to the hype. Let's take a look:


Broncos 27, Chiefs 17

This was a battle for first place in the AFC West and the Chiefs trying to stay undefeated. I was impressed with Kansas City even though they lost. Their defense held down the Denver offense for big portions of the night and allowed the Chiefs to hang around for most of the game. Like I said in my prediction, Alex Smith couldn't match what Peyton Manning did during the night and Jamaal Charles didn't so very much, so the offense was stagnant causing the Chiefs to suffer their first loss of the season. The Broncos made some big plays on offense and their defense really stepped up and played like a Super Bowl contender defense should. The Broncos offensive line played well against the great front four of the Chiefs and that allowed Manning to stand comfortable in the pocket and complete passes to his receivers. Denver has so many ways to beat teams, it's next to impossible to stop them the whole night. The running game with Moreno is really balancing the offense nicely and adding more problems to opposing defenses. The Broncos have 2 tough games coming up, at New England this Sunday Night then at Arrowhead Stadium to face the Chiefs again. These next 2 games will determine if the Broncos can get home field advantage throughout the playoffs.



Panthers 24, Patriots 20

Cam Newton has arrived folks! He played one of his best games of his career and lead the Panthers to another impressive win over the Patriots. Newton threw for 209 yards and 3 TD's and also made some key 3rd down conversions with his legs while rushing for 62 total yards. The Panthers defense didn't play their best, but they disrupted the Patriots offense the whole 1st half and stopped New England on the final play of the game that sealed the win. Tom Brady was in position to win the game on the last drive, but couldn't do it due to a controversial call. The Patriots running game was a reason they were in the game the whole night with a balance attack with Ridley, Blount and Vereen. This really helped the offense and allowed the play action to work with Brady and his receivers. The Patriots host the Broncos this Sunday and their offense has to be more efficient and their defense needs to play a lot better. This game will be another classic match up between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.



Saints 23, 49ers 20

The 49ers defense played great, but the lack of a passing game and a stifled running game allowed the Saints to pull out the victory. The Niners defense was pumped all game, holding the Saints to just field goals in the 2nd half and Brees to just 1 touchdown pass. But for the 2nd week in a row, the Niners passing game didn't show up. Kaepernick threw for only 127 yards and the Saints defense held Frank Gore to only 48 yards rushing. Even with those terrible offensive numbers, the 49ers were still in the game and if the controversial roughing the passer penalty on Drew Brees had not been called, they would have most likely pulled out the victory. The Saints didn't play their best on Sunday, but still managed to win the game. As long as New Orleans plays at home, they will be tough to beat. The defense for the Saints plays a different game at home than on the road and their offense just feeds off the crowd. The Saints have a balanced offense with over 10 players getting catches and that forces defenses to scramble to cover them all. The Saints play in Seattle in a few weeks and that will be a true test on how good this Saints team is.



Those were the 3 monster games that have changed the playoff race and every week there will be more and more games that will add chaos to the playoff picture. But of course with good games comes moments during a game that are controversial and drive fans crazy. Here are 2 examples:


Example #1
The Saints versus 49ers game had a bad call on a sack of Drew Brees that was called roughing the passer. Drew Brees was sacked, fumbled the ball and the 49ers recovered, which would have changed that game dramatically. The refs flagged Ahmad Brooks for roughing Brees because he tackled him by throwing his arms around his neck. Brooks didn't contact Brees' helmet and it looked like a clean sack, but even tackling a QB around the neck is considered roughing the passer.

Example #2
The Patriots versus Panthers came down to a final play that will be talked about for a long time. Tom Brady threw an interception in the end zone as time expired, but a flag was thrown for pass interference. This would have given the Patriots one more play even though time had expired. After a conference with all the refs, the flag was picked up and the Panthers won 24-20. The refs explained after the game that Gronkowski didn't attempt to catch the ball and the ball thrown by Brady was considered un-catchable.

Both of these calls I believe are judgement calls by the referees. Of course after the game the refs explained their reasoning for the call by using a rule that doesn't make any sense. The refs called the pass interference penalty because the ball wasn't catch able and Gronkowski didn't make an effort to catch the ball. When you watch the replay, the reason Gronkowski couldn't make a play on the ball is that Kuechly, the Panthers linebacker, was hugging Gronk for most of the play. In a game that close and pivotal to the playoff picture, the ref who threw the penalty flag immediately did see something and should have stood by his initial decision.

For the roughing the passer penalty on Drew Brees, how are defenders suppose to sack quarterbacks anymore? If you can't contact them above the shoulders or touch their helmet or take their legs out, that doesn't leave many areas to tackle them. In the NFL now, the quarterback position in the most valuable player on the field. When a team loses their start quarterback like Rodgers for the Packers, the team usually starts playing bad football and that's not good for the league. When the elite quarterbacks are on the field playing well, that's great business for the NFL. So defenders have to understand that elite quarterbacks like Brees, Manning, Rodgers and Brady will be protected at all cost. I don't agree with the call on Ahmad Brooks, but the league has changed and the quarterback position will be overly protect at all times. Defenders must adjust to this new era of football or else many more penalties and possible fines will be called on them.



Power Rankings: Week 12

1. Denver Broncos- gave Chiefs 1st loss, defense stepped up, at Pats & at Chiefs next 2 games, wow!
2. Seattle Seahawks- host Saints a week from Monday, can grab home field with win, Harvin is back
3. Kansas City Chiefs- lost 1st game, defense played well, Alex Smith has to improve, need Charles more involved
4. New Orleans Saints- good win vs 49ers, Seahawk game is for home field, can they play well on road?
5. Indianapolis Colts- 2nd seed in AFC, tough game in Arizona, defense must step up, Luck is leading
6. Carolina Panthers- beat 49ers & Pats back to back, Newton looking elite, defense is for real
7. New England Patriots- tough loss at Carolina, running game improving, defense wearing down?
8. Cincinnati Bengals- offense busted out, defense looking sharp, Indy game looms in a few weeks
9. San Francisco 49ers- tough loss, passing game bad, Crabtree will help, Kap not himself, defense is stout
10. Detroit Lions- Megatron is unstoppable, defense getting shredded, Bush no factor, Bears are looming
11. Chicago Bears- fighting for division, better without Cutler? Marshall is awesome, defense playing well
12. Dallas Cowboys- huge game vs Giants, will Dez Bryant breakout? typical Dallas season
13. Arizona Cardinals- no one talks about them, defense is good, Fitz and Palmer connecting, look out!
14. Philadelphia Eagles- first place in East! Foles is on fire, McCoy running well, defense has improved
15. Miami Dolphins- riding the ship? Carolina tough game, where is Wallace, Tannehill playing well
16. New York Jets- Geno not so good, too many mistakes, running game is good, Dave & Busters?
17. New York Giants- 4 in a row, can tie Dallas with win, defense is anchoring team, few mistakes from Eli
18. Green Bay Packers- Whole organization depends on Aaron Rodgers
19. Pittsburgh Steelers- back in playoff hunt, Big Ben of old, defense old & suspect, burn jailbird uniforms!
20. San Diego Chargers- big loss in Miami, face tough Chief defense, dropping out of playoff chase?

OUT: Ravens, Browns, Rams, Titans, Redskins, Bills, Vikings, Texans, Falcons, Raiders, Bucs, Jaguars

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!

Week 11 Predictions!!

     Here are the 3 MONSTER games for Week 11:

Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

The undefeated Chiefs look to impress the football world by trying to take down the Broncos at Mile High stadium on Sunday Night Football. The Chiefs are coming off a bye week and have been able to game plan for Denver for 2 weeks. Alex Smith will have to make some big plays during the game. He hasn't had to make big plays all year due to a great running game with Jamaal Charles and a superb defense. I am not sure if he can do it since he threw for 0 touchdowns in 5 games this year. The combo of a great defense and running game has masked the play of Alex Smith. The running game will do well, but I don't think Alex Smith can match what Peyton Manning is going to do. For the Broncos, is their defense going to improve? Can it stop a good running game like the Chiefs? Peyton Manning is beat up a little, so the offensive line for the Broncos must push back the great front line of the Chief defense. If the Chiefs can get to Manning early and often, they have a shot at winning the game. Blocking for the running game and the offensive line is the main focus for the Broncos. The Chiefs will battle all the way till the end, but some big runs by Moreno and a key turnover by Alex Smith will put the Broncos in first place in the AFC West.

Broncos 27

Chiefs 20









New England Patriots @ Carolina Panthers

This is going to be a fun game to watch. A re-match of Super Bowl 38 and a chance for Carolina to again prove they are a contender for the Super Bowl this year. The Patriots are coming off a bye and playing good football despite having a core of receivers that no one knows about. Tom Brady is doing a remarkable job with this offense, but will have his hands full with a stout Panthers defense. The Panthers only give up 82 yards rushing and 201 yards passing per game, so the Patriots offense will find it hard to score points in this game. Carolina has a chance to win another big game and take down the mighty Tom Brady all on Monday Night Football. The Panthers defense is anchoring this team and will cause chaos in this game. Cam Newton is playing good football, but will have to take his game to the next level to win against the Patriots. Look for Steve Smith to make tough catches in critical situations and Ted Gin to make some big plays on special teams. It's good to see a team like Carolina take that next step after beating the 49ers in San Francisco. Even with that big win I see Tom Brady doing just enough to pull out the win. The Patriots defense will step up and put enough pressure on Cam Newton to make him turn the ball over at a critical moment in the game.

                   
                        Patriots 19, Panthers 10



San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints

The Superdome will be rocking for the this pivotal match up in the NFC. Will the 49er passing game come back from the dead? Kaepernick must find Boldin and Davis a lot to even keep up with the Saints. The Niners running game of Gore and Hunter is running wild and look for that to continue in this game. Boldin and Davis have to have between 15-20 catches or else the 49ers are headed for the 2nd straight loss. The Saints, after crushing the Cowboys, have a tough 49ers defense to deal with and have to find different ways to score points on them. Sproles played a great game last week and I believe he is the x-factor in this game. The 49ers will have the receivers covered and running game slowed down, but Sproles will catch some short passes and turn them into big gains and make it tough for the 49er defenders to tackle him. Drew Brees is playing the best football in all the league and will continue making great plays in this game. The 1st quarter is huge for the 49ers and they need to get the passing game going early and let Kaepernick run wild! The Saints will battle the 49er defense for the 1st half, but explode in the 2nd half and win the game.

                            Saints 31, 49ers 17

                            Here are the rest of my predictions:

Buffalo Bills 20, New York Jets 17

Baltimore Ravens 17, Chicago Bears 14

Cincinnati Bengals 31, Cleveland Browns 16

Philadelphia Eagles 30, Washington Redskins 20

Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Detroit Lions 20

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Atlanta Falcons 21

Arizona Cardinals 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

Houston Texans 27, Oakland Raiders 9

Miami Dolphins 23, San Diego Chargers 17

New York Giants 27, Green Bay Packers 13

Seattle Seahawks 31, Minnesota Vikings 10

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!

Week 11 Power Rankings

Let the real fun begin  . . .


I went 7-6 this past weekend with some surprising losses from the Colts, Titans and Dolphins. Congrats to Jacksonville and Tampa Bay for getting their first win of the season. There will be no 0-16 team this year, so the race for the first pick in the 2014 NFL Draft will be a battle till the end of the season.

The biggest win was the Panthers going into San Francisco and winning 10-9. The Carolina defense shut down Kaepernick and the Niner passing game to the tune of 46 total net yards passing. The Panthers offense did just enough to score 10 points and sent a statement to the league that they are for real. The Panthers have another opportunity to send shock waves through he league by hosting the Patriots on Monday Night football this week.

The Saints blew up the Cowboys on Sunday night and I think most people assumed it would happen. The Saints are unbeatable at home and host the 49ers in a critical NFC match up this Sunday at the Superdome. The Cowboys are on a bye and it comes at the best time. Their offense is sputtering, Dez Bryant only had 2 catches against the Saints, and Romo looked so dis-interested throughout the game. Since Dallas isn't running away with the division, this is great news for the Eagles, Giants and Redskins.

The Eagles are tied for first place in the NFC East and look to be playing the best ball in that division. The Lions are in first place in the NFC North and looking like the best team in that division. The Aaron Rodgers injury has changed that division and Detroit is looking like they will prevail as the division champ.

Seattle destroyed Atlanta in their own building and since the Niners lost, Seattle has a 2 game lead in the NFC West. All the teams in the NFC better hope the Seahawks stumble a few times so they don't get home field advantage in the playoffs. Playing in Seattle will be next to impossible, especially since it will be bad weather and an atmosphere that is similar to a college game.



Here are my Week 11 Power Rankings:

1. Denver Broncos- Chiefs at home this week, Peyton battling injury, home field will be huge this Sunday
2. Seattle Seahawks- solid win in ATL, Wilson running offense better, Harvin to play Sunday
3. Kansas City Chiefs- are they for real? defense must get to Peyton, will Bowe arrest cause distraction
4. New England Patriots- Brady is amazing, next 2 games (at Panthers, home vs Broncos) will show a lot
5. New Orleans Saints- bounce back game, have to get homefield, too many weapons, defense is steady
6. San Francisco 49ers- pressure on Kap, will any WR step up? running game and defense anchoring team
7. Detroit Lions- first place Lions! Offense keeps rolling, defense making plays, trap game in Pittsburgh?
8. Indianapolis Colts- holy loss Batman! Luck & offense took day off, weak defense, true contender?
9. Carolina Panthers- monster win in SF, defense is crazy good, next big game hosting Pats Monday Night
10. Cincinnati Bengals- tough 2 losses in OT, gotta win close games, division tightens a little
11. Dallas Cowboys- Absolute ass whipping in NO, typical Dallas season so far, Dez not involved at all
12. Chicago Bears- injuries hurting team again, Cutler out Sunday, Marshall best receiver with Megatron
13. Green Bay Packers- No Rodgers means no wins, defense is absent, Rodgers still few weeks away
14. New York Jets- defense is good, offense can run well, will expectations now hurt the team?
15. Arizona Cardinals- no one talks about them, great defense, offense shows some signs, tough out
16. San Diego Chargers- hung with Broncos, tough out for teams, Rivers/running game pacing the team
17. Baltimore Ravens- back in playoff hunt, offense needs consistency, why can't they use Ray Rice right?
18. Miami Dolphins- what a disaster, still in playoff hunt, where is running game? tricky games ahead
19. Philadelphia Eagles-tied for first in division, Foles looks great, defense playing better, fly Eagles fly
20. Cleveland Browns- still in playoff hunt, defense is stingy, can Campbell lead them to playoffs?

Out: Giants, Steelers, Rams, Titans, Bills, Redskins, Vikings, Texans, Falcons, Raiders, Jaguars, Bucs

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!

Week 10 Predictions

When Chaos Takes Over:

Before I release my predictions for Week 10, I want to give an update on the disastrous situation going on with the Miami Dolphins. Everyone has heard the main part of the story and both Martin and Incognito are not part of the Dolphins for the foreseeable future. The story is now looking into the culture inside the Dolphins organization. There are reports of the Dolphins GM, Jeff Ireland, telling Incognito to punch Martin if necessary to toughen him up. This kind of report is making Miami look like a toxic place to play. When you read blogs, newspapers, or watch ESPN, you get a lot of different perspectives. Some think Martin is a snitch, some think Incognito is an asshole and some are in the middle blaming both sides.

As I see it, this is a huge moment for the whole Dolphins franchise. If this kind of behavior is acceptable within the Dolphins locker room, who wants to go play there? I know a NFL locker room is different than any other work place with strong language and behavior, but shouldn't there be a limit?

Does anyone think racial slurs or personal attacks were accepted in the Baltimore Ravens locker room while Ray Lewis was the team leader? What about the Broncos locker room with Peyton Manning? Or Drew Brees in New Orleans? The answer is hell no!! The failure of leadership and accountability in the Dolphins organization is the biggest problem right now. A great example of this is a lot of the Dolphins players still support Richie Incognito and think he is a great guy and can't believe he would leave those insane voicemails and texts messages. Only QB Ryan Tannehill and offensive lineman Bryant McKinnie have mentioned the idea of Jonathan Martin returning to the Dolphins in the future.

Like I said earlier this week, I hope this fuels the team to play well on Monday Night and for the rest of the season. All the players in that locker room, the coaches and executives need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask themselves if this is the type of atmosphere that will create a championship team. I am embarrassed as a fan right now. As more and more information surfaces daily, the Dolphins franchise has to figure ways not to sink deeper and deeper into embarrassment.

Week 10 Predictions!

Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints

A big game for both teams. The Saints, coming off a bad loss against the Jets, look to dominate the Cowboys in the Superdome on Sunday Night Football. Last week, the Saints played without Sproles and Colston, which are big parts of their offense, and it showed that they need those two players on the field to win. This week, Sproles and Colston will play and look for New Orleans to put up a lot of points. The Cowboys, barely beating the Vikings at home last week, look to upset the Saints in New Orleans. The Dallas defense is second to last in yards allowed per game and that will only get worse against a pissed off Saints offense. Look for Romo and the offense to put points on the boards and stay with the Saints for a few quarters, but I don't believe the "Boys will hang with the Saints in the 2nd half. This is a strong bounce back game for New Orleans as they look for the huge match up at home the following week against the 49ers.

Saints 34, Cowboys 21

Carolina Panthers at San Francisco 49ers

This is going to be a fun game to watch, especially if you like defense. The Carolina defense has surprised the league and looks to make a statement against a top notch running game by the 49ers. Cam Newton has been playing great football and not turning the football over. The running game with DeAngelo Williams has stepped up and balanced the Panther offense. The 49ers are on a 5 game winning streak and playing some of the best football in the league. Frank Gore is running the ball hard and efficient and Kaepernick is doing enough to make the 49ers a strong contender for the Super Bowl. The Niner defense is back to playing nasty and tough football and will make it hard for Newton and the Panther offense to move the ball.. I am excited to see if Cam Newton can take that next step and turn the Panthers into an elite team in the NFL. The Niner defense, with a loud home crowd,  will cause a few turnovers by  Newton and will make it extremely tough to score. Frank Gore will grind out over 100 yards and Kaepernick will make some big plays with his legs and clutch throws to Vernon Davis.

49ers 23, Panthers 13

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

With Aaron Rodgers out for the Packers for a while, the door for both the Bears and Lions to step up into 1st place is wide open. The Lions, coming off a bye, is an offense that can explode at any time. With Megatron (Calvin Johnson) dominating every secondary and Reggie Bush coming out of the backfield as a factor, the Bears defense are going to have their hands full all day. Stafford will have a good game and make some plays that will continue drives for the Lions and put pressure on a suspect Bears defense. The Bears get their QB Jay Cutler back and another big game will be coming from Brandon Marshall.  This is a tough game to pick cause both teams have played well and win games in different ways. The Lions offense has more power and Cutler might be a little shaky during his first game back.

Lions 27, Bears 24

Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers

If you like offense, this is the game for you. The Broncos, averaging an astounding 42.9 points per game, are looking to start their tough 4 game stretch with a win. The Broncos have an incredible offense, but their issue is defense. They are giving up 27.2 points per game, tied for 7th worse in the league. That has to improve in order for the Broncos to stay as a top Super Bowl contender. The Chargers can score and Phillip Rivers is in the running for comeback player of the year. The running game of Matthews and Woodhead is balancing the offense very well. The game will depend on the Chargers defense creating turnovers by the high powered Bronco offense. This is a tough task for the Chargers and will be in the game till the end, but won't be able to pull out the victory.

Broncos 38, Chargers 31

Here the rest of my predictions:

Seattle Seahawks 24, Atlanta Falcons 13

Green Bay Packers 20,  Philadelphia Eagles 17

Tennessee Titans 30, Jacksonville Jaguars 9

Indianapolis Colts 30, St Louis Rams 10

New York Giants 24, Oakland Raiders 13

Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Buffalo Bills 13

Cincinnati Bengals 24, Baltimore Ravens 17

Arizona Cardinals 23, Houston Texans 9

Miami Dolphins 23, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!

Week 10 Power Rankings

                                    THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!

I would like to say thank you to everyone that reads my blog!! I hope it informs everyone on what is going on in the NFL. I know all of you are busy and on the move, so when you have time to read my blog I really appreciate it. Thank you once again and leave me a message here or on Facebook if you have any ideas on how to improve the blog!

I went 9-3 in the week 9 games and was close with predicting the exact score of the Panthers/Falcons game and Chargers/Redskins game. The Saints losing to the Jets was the biggest surprise of the weekend and also the Buccaneers beating the Seahawks in Seattle for most of the game was a shocker too. It is getting very hard to predict the outcomes of these games cause the NFL has so much parody in it. The Saints are a lot better than the Jets, but yet they looked terrible and actually lost the game. Nick Foles threw 7 TD passes (tied an NFL record for most TD's thrown ever) in a win against the Raiders in Oakland and an injury to Aaron Rodgers has cause mass panic in the state of Wisconsin. All 32 teams in the NFL better play hard every game no matter what the competition is because any team can be beaten at any time.


Power Rankings for Week 10:

1. Denver Broncos- tough division games start, Chiefs game in 2 weeks, can they start rolling again?
2. Seattle Seahawks- survived Bucs game, Saints and 49ers games coming up, they need Percy Harvin!
3. Kansas City Chiefs- 9-0 is impressive! Bye this week, Broncos game in 2 weeks will answer questions
4. Indianapolis Colts- big win in Houston, Wayne will be missed, Richardson struggling, Luck is elite
5. San Francisco 49ers- Panthers game big, Saints and Seahawks looming, Crabtree practicing is huge
6. New England Patriots- statement win Sunday, Brady amazing with offense, running game getting better
7. New Orleans Saints- bad loss in NY, out of sync outside, can they win in Seattle? gotta get home field
8. Cincinnati Bengals- tough loss in Miami, gotta be consistent on both sides, division very weak
9. Green Bay Packers- Rodgers out least 3 weeks, schedule not hard, Lacy anchoring running game
10. Dallas Cowboys- gotta blow out bad teams, offense is sill clunky, where has defense gone?
11. Detroit Lions- big opportunity with Rodgers injury, offense so explosive, gotta win on the road
12. Carolina Panthers- they are for real, big test in SF this Sunday, can Newton succeed in a big game?
13. Chicago Bears- season saving win, Marshall is a top WR, can McCown continue his success?
14. San Diego Chargers- tough loss on the road, huge test against Denver Sunday, Woodhead is x-factor
15. Miami Dolphins- great win vs Bengals, can team rally around all this crap and win Monday Night?
16. Tennessee Titans- Locker looked good, good win on the road, Chris Johnson finally shows up!
17. New York Jets- surprise of the season, running game is good, need to show consistency
18. Cleveland Browns- Tough team, defense is strong, fans can cheer about them finally!
19. Baltimore Ravens- will they make playoffs? lots of missing pieces, Flacco/Ray Rice need improving
20. Arizona Cardinals- defense is good, tough division, will cause chaos in playoff race

Out: Eagles, Redskins, Raiders, Texans, Falcons, Giants,
Steelers, Rams, Bills, Vikings, Jaguars, Bucs

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!!

Failure of Leadership

Where Has Respect Gone:


I am sure most of you have read or heard about the situation going on with the Miami Dolphins. Jonathan Martin, an offensive lineman for the Dolphins,  handed over voice mails and texts from fellow lineman Richie Incognito that included racial slurs, threats and profane language. The Dolphins have suspended Incognito and Martin has filed a players misconduct complaint.

This is such a messed up situation. At what point does a grown man like Incognito think its right to bully someone by using racial slurs and threats! Bullying is a big problem in the world today and to hear it happen to this extreme inside a professional sports organization is crazy. Of course there are incidents with other teams that involve hazing like getting a weird haircut or having to carry another teammates helmet and pads, which is fine, but making it personal and using racial slurs is unacceptable.

Did coach Joe Philbin really know anything? He has taken responsibility for what occurred, but is it too late? Does he not have control of his locker room? Did the offensive line coach or any other coaches see any inappropriate behavior? As a coach you have to have your players back and always be on the look out for assholes like Richie Incognito. Another nugget for you, Incognito was part of a few players that were considered the Captains of the team. Yeah, the guy doing all this terrible stuff had a high ranking with his fellow teammates.

That shows where the state of the Dolphins are at. As a Dolphins fan, I am beyond upset and downright embarrassed. It's one thing to be embarrassed when your team plays bad football and doesn't win any games, but being embarrassed in this way is so disappointing. Stephen Ross, the Dolphins owner and Jeff Ireland, Dolphins GM, have to be held responsible as well. Is this the way the organization is run? Did they know anything of this situation before it went public? What about Martin's teammates? What did they know? If some of them knew what was going on and didn't say anything, they are part of the problem as well.

For a team or company to succeed in this world, fellow teammates or co-workers have to look out for one another and speak up when bad events occur.  Incognito can let the door hit him in the ass and never show his face in Miami or the NFL again. He is a useless punk, a terrible person and someone that has no respect for any human being. I hope the entire Dolphins team rallies around one another to vow this never happens again and play well in Tampa this coming Monday Night.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!!

Week 9 predictions

First off, I would like to give a shout out to my Boston Red Sox for winning the 2013 World Series! It was a great series against the St. Louis Cardinals and provided one of the most memorable plays in World Series history, the obstruction call in Game 3. The Red Sox were picked by most people to finish dead last in their division this year. Considering the Bobby Valentine season last year, the beer and chicken incidents and the collapse in September of 2011, this was a dramatic change for a storied franchise. This team had a lot of grinder players that played hard everyday and just wanted to win. It was a lot of fun to watch them all year long and even better when they raised the World Series trophy on Wednesday October 30. Boston Strong!!

     

                     Here are my NFL predictions for Week 9:


Kansas City Chiefs @ Buffalo Bills
The Chiefs are 8-0 and looking to take advantage of an injured Bills team. The Chiefs defense will play well and cause havoc for whoever starts at QB for Buffalo. Jamaal Charles will be the star of the game and Alex Smith will manage the offense like he has done all season. The Bills have scored a lot of points this season, but the Chiefs defense is solid and will slow them down.
Chiefs 24, Bills 13

Minnesota Vikings @ Dallas Cowboys
The Vikings are weak at the Quarterback position and Dallas will take advantage of that. I feel bad for Adrian Peterson and hopes he goes to a better team someday. Romo and his offense will have a break out game and run the score up. It will be a fun day in Big D.
Cowboys 34, Vikings 10

Tennessee Titans @ St. Louis Rams
The Titans have played good football this year and look to take advantage of an injured Rams team. The Rams defense played great against Seattle last Monday, but won't be as good this Sunday. Jake Locker returns at quarterback for the Titans and will have a great game. The Tennessee defense will shut down a weak Rams offense and cause them to commit several turnovers.
Titans 24, Rams 13

New Orleans Saints @ New York Jets
This could be a trap game for the Saints because they have games against Seattle and San Francisco coming up. Drew Brees and Jimmy Graham are unstoppable and look for Darren Sproles to play a huge role in this match up. The surprise Jets have a great front line on defense and feed off the fans at MetLife stadium. Look for the Jets to keep this a closer game thank most think until the 4th quarter. The Saints defense will make a few plays that will give them the win in New York.
Saints 27, Jets 14

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots
Will the Pittsburgh offense finally break out? Tom Brady is so good but  his young receivers will have a tough time against a stiff Steeler defense. The Patriot defense will play well and do enough to make Big Ben and the Pittsburgh offense uncomfortable. Somehow, someway the Patriots, like always, will win the game.
Patriots 20, Steelers 13

  The rest of my predictions are:

- Washington Redskins 27, San Diego Chargers 24

- Carolina Panthers 30, Atlanta Falcons 13

- Oakland Raiders 23, Philadelphia Eagles 13

- Seattle Seahawks 30, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6

- Cleveland Browns 17, Baltimore Ravens 10

- Indianapolis Colts 24, Houston Texans 13

- Green Bay Packers 34, Chicago Bears 17

Leave me a comment and let me know what you like

or dislike about the blog!!